Philly schools could see state funding bump under Gov. Wolf's budget

By the numbers: The district's special education programs would get a boost of $70 million under the proposed budget.

• The district also could reap $145 million in savings from changes to the state’s charter school funding formula, Rementer said.

Of note: The governor also wants to invest around $1.9 billion in new funding for public and higher education.

The big picture: Wolf's budget plan doesn't include hikes in income or sales taxes.

• Rather, the proposal — which is an increase over last year's $40 billion budget — taps into the billions of dollars the state received in federal pandemic aid.

What they're saying: State Republican leaders immediately slammed Wolf's spending blueprint.

• "The irresponsible plan proposed today increases spending by $17 million per day. If I were not actually here to see it, I would not believe such a terrible idea would actually be put forward by this governor," House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia schools superintendent William Hite called Wolf's spending proposal a "giant step forward toward an equitable and adequate state system of funding our schools."

• Hite said the funding and the charter school reforms will allow the district, which has a nearly $5 billion backlog in needed repairs, to "make new investments our students and schools deserve."